The Psychology of Gender 4th Edition

Paid Worker Role and Health 475

In this section of the chapter, I define

sexual harassment, examine its incidence,

and describe characteristics of perpetrators

and victims. Then, I review some theories of

Sexual Harassment

Definitions

The following is the U.S. Equal Employment

Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC, 1980,

p. 74677) definition of sexual harassment:

Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for

sexual favors, and other verbal or physical

conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual

harassment when (1) submission to such

conduct is made either explicitly or implic-

itly a term or condition of an individual’s

employment, (2) submission to or rejection

of such conduct by an individual is used as

the basis for employment decisions affect-

ing such individual, or (3) such conduct

has the purpose or effect of unreasonably

interfering with an individual’s work per-

formance or creating an intimidating, hos-

tile, or offensive working environment.

The EEOC defines two types of sexual

harassment: (1)quid pro quo, which means

one person offers work benefits (e.g., promo-

tion) or threatens work repercussions (e.g., loss

of job) in exchange for sexual favors, and (2)

hostile environment, which means the person

is faced with a hostile, intimidating work envi-

ronment. Quid pro quo, which can be trans-

lated as “this for that,” is likely to occur among

two people of different statuses. Hostile envi-

ronment sexual harassment, which frequently

consists of pervasive pornographic material,

sexual language, and displays of sexual behav-

ior, is more likely to occur among coworkers;

this type of harassment was the subject of the

Eveleth Mines case.

that of other women rather than that of men. When

comparisons to men are made salient, women become

less satisfied with their pay.

SEXUAL HARASSMENT

In 1991, the Tailhook Association, an orga-

nization for Navy aviators, convened at the

Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas for their annual

convention. The convention was known for

its memorable parties and rowdy behavior,

but this year, things got out of hand—or this

year, people got caught. Women who were

on vacation, as well as women who were

members of the association, walked in on the

third-floor party to find the halls lined with

men (known as the “Banister”) who pro-

ceeded to grab and fondle various body parts

and remove clothing despite the women’s

screams and attempts to fight the men off.

The final report sent to the Navy contained

incidents of verbal abuse, physical abuse, and

sexual molestation (Ballingrud, 1992).

Not nearly as famous as Tailhook, but

equally as devastating, was the Eveleth Mines

case (Tevlin, 1998). In 1993, 16 female mine

workers successfully sued Oglebay Norton

Corp. in the first ever hostile sexual work en-

vironment class-action lawsuit in the United

States. The mine was decorated with pornog-

raphy, obscene graffiti, and sexual objects.

One woman went to discuss these issues

with her supervisor but found a picture of

a vagina on his desk. The women were sub-

jected to dirty jokes, sexual propositions,

fondling, and groping on a daily basis. One

woman even found semen on the clothes in

her locker. Although the courts agreed the

women suffered sexual harassment, it took

five years to settle the case. Monetary awards

were provided to the women, but the com-

pany did not apologize.

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